23 Ottawa-area companies make Profit 500 as local representation rises

Technology and management consulting firm A Hundred Answers is the fastest growing company in Ottawa, according to Profit magazine’s list of the 500 fastest growing companies in Canada.

Sean Murphy is the CEO of A Hundred Answers.

by Jacob Serebrin

A Hundred Answers, which ranked 10th on the Profit 500, saw revenue grow 4,002 per cent between 2008 and 2013. The company, which has 57 employees, has revenue between $5 and $9.9 million.

A total of 23 companies from the Ottawa region made the list, with 20 of those firms headquartered in the city.

That’s up from last year when 19 local companies made the list.

Superna Business Consulting was the only other Ottawa-based company to crack the top 50. The company which employs 35 people saw revenue grow by 2,456 per cent between 2008 and 2013. The company, which has revenue between $5 and $9.9 million, saw 95 per cent of its sales come from exports.

"Superna is honoured to be on the PROFIT 500 ranking for the second time," Michael Arno, the company’s CEO said in a release. "This achievement reflects the dedication of our team, the adoption of our solutions and the depth of industry partnerships that we have built over the last five years.”

Edmonton-based FourQuest Energy Inc. was named fastest-growing company, with revenue growth of 7,308 per cent. FourQuest employs 234 and had revenue of between $50 and $99.9 million.

The Profit 500 ranks companies by growth in GAPP gross annual revenue over a five-year period. Participants are self-selecting and while companies provide Profit with actual financials, privately-held companies may ask the magazine to disclose revenue as a range.